MONTICELLO, NY — On May 30, Lady Luck proved to be a bit elusive, as Jim Taggart Jr., one of Monticello Raceway’s most illustrious reinsmen, was in search of yet another harness racing milestone in the guise of his 6,000th trip to the winner’s circle.

Taggart took to the 11-card field piloting eight horses, and with a total of 5,998 wins to his credit since 1988. He was within two first-place finishes of cracking the victory ceiling, but came up one win short. But he did place Wind Blast, trained by Monica Ericksen, in the winner’s circle and immortalized by track shooter Geri Schwarz.

So far this racing season, Taggart has posted 47,129 purse starts since taking up the reins, and is edging towards $30 million in total winnings, not counting Thursday’s tally.

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Just before the start of the first race, Taggart  said, “You’ve got five minutes.”

Before sitting down with this sports scribbler, Shawn Wiles, Monticello’s director of racing and facilities, explained that Taggart was “a man of few words” but many accomplishments in the world of Standardbred racing.

Taggart’s silence harkens back to a decades-old interview conducted by the Mighty M’s legendary PR guy John Manzi. Manzi wrote, “Taggart, who like too many other horsemen tries to shun interviews, claiming media coverage can and will change their luck,, ‘I’m having a good meet so far and I don’t want anything to jinx me.’”

On that particular day, Lady Luck smiled again, as Taggart posted a win with My Cool Breeze in the 13th race, proving that number 13 isn’t always a bad omen.

He was born in Monticello in 1970 and graduated from Monti High, kick-starting his harness racing career at Monticello Raceway. Later he became a leading driver at Pocono Downs, racing at night; at the same time, he favored the daylight hours at the Mighty M.

Taggart posted his 3,000th victory at Monticello Raceway on July 24, 2013, piloting Always Right in the opening race of the afternoon card. His 5,000th was on Tuesday afternoon, January 28, 2020 with GD Striker, a four-year-old gelding trained by Gary Messenger, and in 2022, he was awarded the local raceway’s total wins and earning titles, posting a repeat of this feat from 2019.

“My father owned horses when I was a kid; I used to come out to the track, and I loved it,” recalled the quiet-spoken reinsman. 

Asked about changes in the sport, Taggart replied, “Speed holds up more now. Everybody wants to be up closer to the front… they think it’s easier to win if you come off the pace… The horses are so much faster and stronger now; they’ve gotten faster and stronger, just like human athletes.”

No interview of a harness driver would be complete without asking the inevitable question, “What’s your favorite horse?” and Taggart responded, “Chip Chip Conway,” a horse bred by Gary Messenger and Kenneth Weckstein, trained by Messenger and described by harness racing writer Catskill Steve as a ”gritty aged gelding.”

Since picking up a camera and pen as a freelance photojournalist, Ted Waddell has received 21 awards from the New York Press Association. His most recent recognition was the Phil Pines Award from the Monticello-Goshen Chapter of the United States Harness Writer’s Association in 2022. Waddell is a member of the International Freelancer Photographers Organization.